Tag Archives: outfit

my uniform

Studying in Chicago, I had a uniform of sorts. Most days I would wear some variation of skirt + top + cardigan + belt. It made dressing easy, having a sort of formula to vary on, and in the winter especially it was good for layering tights and fleeces and anything else I could pile on. I grew up in Norway, which isn’t exactly known for being a warm place, but I’m telling you… Chicago winters are about the most brutal I’ve experienced.

Ok, digressing. This past year I’ve noticed a shift in my uniform, to dresses + cardigans + sometimes belts. It’s really quite insignificant, besides the subtle shift to one less piece of clothing to take into the equation, and minimizing the chance that the belt doesn’t sit at the waist of the skirt. My current uniform it is, none the less.

There is one detail about this outfit I want to point out, which is the lack of a belt. I don’t remember where I first saw it (I’m quite sure the clever ladies of acidemichic do this too), but using the wrap belt that is attached to this jersey dress to belt the cardigan as well, is a trick I’ve used for years. You bring the belt to the front of the dress (if it isn’t there already), cross and wrap it around the cardigan, and tie it either in front or in back. Instant color-cordinated belt!

Anyone else have a uniform of sorts?

outfit: british-ness

At least, in my head I was rocking some sort of British hunting vibe, with deers and fowl on my dress, a hunting green cardigan, and leather oxford shoes.

Looking at the outfit now, I mostly just see cute and comfortable, but that’s alright! My favorite part is how the skinny cobalt-colored belt (that really belongs to a striped dress I used a lot during Me-made-May this year) picks up some colors from the print of the dress, and keeps the pinkish tan, leather brown, and field drab (I love color names!) from getting too… drab. You’ll have to trust me when I say it was more of a contrast in real life!

The dress is the same one I declared my favorite some months ago, and it’s still a favorite for all the same reasons. Plus, John and I went to the local coffee roastery‘s open Saturday, and a lady asked me where I’d gotten my pretty dress! I’m a sucker for compliments. Also, following my own link there, apparently I really like wearing this particular dress to the coffee roastery, how funny!

And then I hide by people’s houses, just because they are cute and wooden with benches and trees and stone walls. Love my neighbourhood!

flora & fauna: a favorite

Yesterday was a beautiful day here in Bergen, and any day without the threat of rain must be taken advantage of! So we hopped on our bikes, to go coffee-sampling at the city’s coffee roastery at their monthly open-house day.

Safety first! I bike in the streets with the cars, and I cannot imagine not having a helmet on – my head feels bare and it just feels wrong if I forget to put it on! Then I remember and walk inside and fetch it and go on my merry way.

I’ve been digging monochrome-ish outfits in neutral colors lately, and this fits that bill – a symphony of greys and taupes with some olive grey and brown thrown in. The dress is one of my favorites – It’s called Southward Stop Shirtdress (from Anthropologie). I love just about everything about this dress; the muted color-scheme, the super-fine-waled corduroy, the shape, the stand collar and the v-neckline, and of course…. the print. There are little deers all over my dress!

“Look, a parachuter!”

And you know what else is on my dress (apart from random chocolate stains that the print does a marvelous job of hiding)? A little bit of everything! I spy polka-dotted pocket linings, polka-dotted piping, ruffles, gathers, inverted box-pleats and lets throw in some pin-tucks too. I would never have thought that all those things could go on a dress with a print without looking ridiculously busy, but I’m taking it as a lesson to play more with elements in my garments. If this dress can make that look good, then so can I!

I have a real tendency to go with solids both in buying and in making clothes, but I’ve really been trying to get more prints and patterns into my wardrobe. I’m knitting a scarf right now in a variegated yarn which is a bit of a departure for me – but it’s part of me challenging myself to venture beyond solids!

And on a random end note, I love that this city sits on the water and is surrounded by mountains.

outfit: first day of spring

We had two whole days of sunshine here in Bergen, and the unofficial, but highly followed, rule here in rainy Bergen in these cases is to drop everything, and soak up as much of the sun as possible.

So after my bikeride back from work, I switched shoes and jacket, and went on a combined photoshoot/grocery-run/sun-seeking walk to the shopping center down the street.

I wasn’t trying to coordinate, but after switching from a bike-jacket to my spring-like short trenchcoat, and nude heels instead of black shoes, I decided my grey, khaki, and curry colored outfit felt really appropriate for the lovely spring weather we were having. That usually warrants an impromptu photoshoot!

Even my tote-bag matches!

The skirt is a recent refashion from a pair of pants, and it’s been getting a lot of wear – a definite new staple in my wardrobe. I made the cowl over the winter, and it’s been in heavy rotation too. I think I’m a complete cowl convert! The jacket and shirt are thrifted, and the heels are from Payless and finally getting some use after I bought them right before a three-month roadtrip were heels weren’t deemed worthy of room in the very tightly packed car-trunk.

So, spring – want to stick around? Please do!